I don't know how long it was before I finally came to a stop, but the sun had completely disappeared from view, leaving Aaron and I shrouded in darkness within the confines of the trees. We must have stopped somewhere near Louisiana, because I vaguely remembered crossing an interstate, then plunging back into trees, sparser now, but still enough to keep us away from the prying eyes of pedestrians.
I stood in the woods, panting, body heaving from the exertion of running for so long. But it felt good, too. Running for so many miles wiped the angry fog that had clouded my mind away, allowing me to think clearly again. I knew that running away wasn't the best idea, but I had been so consumed with anger and sadness and, to be honest, betrayal. I couldn't believe that Marie hated my father so much that she would go against what her daughter had wanted for us, that she would keep our father away from us, not even telling him that we existed. It just wasn't something I had thought my grandmother capable of.
I shook my head, trying to push the thought of her away; getting upset again wasn't going to get me anywhere. When a new thought occurred to me, I turned inward, to my wolf. "How I am a wolf right now?" I asked. "I thought I wasn't supposed to be able to shift on my own for at least another month?"
"Anger is the main trigger of shifting. You felt so upset back there, that you lost control over us, and my form took over yours. Also, I believe you may shift on your own now. The time limit Axel gave you was an estimate, everyone is different," she answered happily.
"So when can I shift back?"
"Whenever you want. I'll retreat, and you'll be in your human form again."
Okay. That was good to know.
I turned to Aaron, who sat beside me, seeming to have an internal conversation of his own. He looked up after a moment, and in his eyes I saw that he'd calmed down as well. "What now?" I asked through the link.
He gave a sort of shrug. "I don't know. But I don't want to go back there. I'm afraid I'll blow up again, and hurt someone. It was hard enough not to snap Mark's wrist back there," he admitted, a slight growl escaping his mouth.
I nodded. "I don't want to go back either."
"So where do we go?" He turned his head, looking around the trees as if there might be some sign.
I thought for a moment. I was certain that we were somewhere near the Texas-Louisiana border, obviously heading east...
"Do you still have that letter?" Aaron asked suddenly.
I shook my head. "No. I dropped it on the porch, just before I shifted. Why?"
"Well, I was thinking that since neither of us wants to go back to Riverton right now, why don't we go find John?" I watched him, making sure he was serious. Aaron had, in the past, suggested such rebellious and dangerous adventures, knowing that I would love them, only to say that he was kidding the moment I agreed to it. But this time, he was completely serious.
"How will we get there? Wherever 'there' is?" I asked. I mean, we were both under-aged, had no car, no money. Hell, we didn't even have clothes right now.
"I've got the name and address memorized," he said. "We can travel like this."
"What about food? Clothes? Where are we going to rest?" I asked.
"Um..."
See, even though I'm usually the rash, let's-dive-in-this-head-first one, I also usually think about things like money and clothes and food. Then I had a thought...
"Wait! There's the beach house on the Gulf! There'll be food and clothes there, and Marie kept a stash of money in the kitchen!"
"Brilliant!" Aaron said. "From here, it's only two hours by car, which means it'll take even less time with us running, as long as we can keep going."
Other than the prospect of running continuously for any longer, it was a perfect plan. So, after resting for a few minutes, we got up and started running south, in the direction of the Gulf. We passed across the interstate again, and a couple of less populated roads, then ran through nothing but trees the rest of the way.
We had to stop occasionally, rest our burning, tired legs and we had to find water once or twice, but continued on, both of us determined to get there.
When the sky was lightening up, dawn approaching, we made it to a small beach town in South Texas. It took us a little longer than we'd expected--two and a half hours--but the sight of the beach house was one for sore eyes--and legs, as it was.
We carefully maneuvered around the town, making sure no one spotted us(didn't want some story about two huge wolves prowling around town showing up the news later), and finally made it to the backside of the pale blue house.
"I'll go get the key and go inside, I'll call to you once I'm in," Aaron said, and walked around to the front of the house. I waited patiently, watching for anyone who might find it strange for a naked teenage boy to be sneaking into a house, while Aaron looked for the spare key and unlocked the door.
"Okay, it's unlocked!" He called. I crept around the side of the house, then asked my wolf to let me back to my human form. I rushed up the wooden steps and through the open doorway, slamming it closed behind me.
"Where are you?" I called to Aaron, not wanting to walk further into the house and catch my brother naked.
"In my room!" He called, his voice muffled, which I assumed meant his door was closed.
I peeled away from the door and quickly made my way down short hallway that led to the three bedrooms, turned left at the end, and entered my room. Just like the one at home, the walls were light blue, but the floor was hardwood, and worn. My bed sat against the outward-facing wall, painted white with a rainbow-stripped comforter laid over it. Thankfully, the white curtains were drawn over the window, so it was sage for me to walk over the closet where my clothes were. Last summer, Aaron and I had complained that it was annoying to try and fit luggage into my grandmother's small car every time we came down here, so the two of us decided to buy clothes from a nearby Walmart and just leave them down here. I pulled back the folding doors and opened the small chest-of-drawers that stood against the wall and found underwear and a bra and pulled those on, followed by a pair of cotton shorts and a sky-blue tank. I was a little surprised that they still fit, since it'd been a year since I last wore them, but I figured it was a kind of blessing.
Fulled by hunger, I left my room and headed towards the small kitchen that opened up into the living room. Aaron was already there, wearing an old pair of jean shorts and a baggy tank top, searching through the freezer, so I walked over to the pantry.
Inside, were cans of Ravioli, green beans, a partial bag of bread that I'd forgotten to throw away before we left that was now fuzzy and green, a still-sealed thing of cookies, and two boxes of cereal.
"What'd you find in there, anything?" I asked, turning around to look at Aaron.
He pulled out two bags and indicated the freezer. "I found chicken fingers, a bag of corn, a bunch of other vegetables, some waffles, Popsicles, and three boxes of Hot Pockets!" He had a grin on his face, one that usually came with the prospect of lots of food.
"Sweet!" I took the chicken fingers from his hand and set them on top of the stove, reading through the directions. "Get out the corn and another bag of vegetables," I instructed, then went about finding a cookie tray for the chicken.
Aaron set the vegetables on the counter and found bowls to put them in, while I pre-heated the oven and poured out the chicken fingers. While we waited for the oven, I opened the fridge, curious to see if there was anything good in there. I found an open box of baking soda, and half a box of Pepsi's.
"You think these are still good?" I asked, holding up a can.
Aaron shrugged. "Hold it over the sink and open it, if it doesn't smell or explode, I'd say it's still good."
I did so, and the can opened fine, and didn't smell weird, so hesitantly, I took a sip.
"How is it?" He asked.
"Tastes fine," I replied, taking a longer swig, happy for the liquid going down my throat. "Even if it isn't okay, we've got stronger immune systems now, so I don't think it'll cause too many problems.
Once the chicken was in the oven, and the vegetables in the microwave, we flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. I hadn't realized just how wonderful sitting down could be.
I found the remote for the air conditioner, and turned it on full blast, both because it was warm, and because I didn't want to fall asleep while the oven was still on.
Thirty minutes later, we were both stuffing our faces, watching Friends on a local station as the sun began light up the room. At around 6:00am, I began dozing off, and before I knew it, I crashed.
It was after 3:00pm when I woke up, sprawled on the couch next to my brother, the TV showing How I Met Your Mother, the AC still blasting cold air. The sky was bright blue, and I could hear the waves crashing on the beach. I shook Aaron's shoulder, trying to wake him.
"Mmm?" He mumbled grumpily.
"Aaron, come on! We've got to start moving."
He grumbled some more, but finally sat up, rubbing his sleep-clouded eyes.
"We should go ahead and gather up what we need, they'll probably look here, especially after we've used the electricity," I told him.
He nodded and stretched. "Alright, but I want to take a shower before we leave. There's no telling when we'll have to mingle with people, and I would prefer not to smell gross."
While Aaron showered, I went back to my room and found the backpack that I kept in the top of my closet and pulled it down, then began stuffing clothes in it. I packed a pair of flip-flops, in case the ones I wore today broke. I left my room and went back to the kitchen, straight to a set of canisters that sat on the counter next to the fridge. I grabbed the medium-sized one, pulled the lid off and got the wads of cash out. Marie had started this stash for emergencies, and whether or not this was one, I didn't care.
I took the rubber bands off and started counting. Fifty...Sixty...Eighty...it went on to two hundred and fifty, and I figured that would probably last our trip to...wherever John lived.
I glanced at the clock on the oven; 4:25pm. We'd been gone for almost twenty-four hours, and I knew by now, they'd be looking for us. Dan and Jess, at least, would have kept them form looking for us for the first six hours probably, because they both knew that neither of us surfaced after getting that angry for several hours. I felt a little bad, leaving them and Axel and the pack without explaining, but it wasn't like we were going to be gone forever--though I wasn't sure how long this whole trip was going to take...
I heard the bathroom door open, then Aaron's bedroom door closed.
I went back to my room with the money, stuffed it in my pack, and zipped the pack shut. I grabbed my clothes off my bed, along with a hairbrush from my dresser and went to shower.
I wished we could stay longer; I loved going to the beach, and not even going down to the water once was severely disappointing. But finding my dad was way more important than the beach.
I scrubbed my skin and scalp, twice, then rinsed off and towel-dried my hair, ran my brush through it, and dressed. I brushed my teeth quickly, then went and put the hairbrush and toothbrush and toothpaste in my pack, figuring it'd save us the money if we didn't have to buy new ones the next time we stopped. I looked out the window in my room, watching as the waves crashed to the shore. There was a strange feeling in my chest, like a hollowness, that I had no idea was there. I wasn't sure what caused it, but I knew it wasn't this whole thing over the letter. It was something else; like a piece of me was missing, somehow.
I shook it off, though, and joined Aaron in the kitchen, dropping my pack onto the couch next to his. He had pulled out two cans of ravioli and was microwaving them, waiting with two spoons in his hand.
"Figured we'd eat before we started off, save some time later," he said without looking at me. I nodded and pulled myself up onto the counter, watching the bowls spin around in the microwave.
We ate the ravioli in relative silence, then washed all the dishes we'd dirtied and put them up.
I turned the TV off, then the AC, then went through the house, making sure we hadn't forgotten anything and turning off lights. I reached the living room again and picked up my backpack, staring at a picture of me, Aaron and Marie. I shook my head. I was so angry and disappointed at her, that I briefly wondered if I would ever get over this.
"Come on, we should get going," Aaron said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I nodded and followed him out the door, locking it and stashing away the key again. We started through the town, towards the visitor's center. Aaron went inside and found a map, which we used to navigate back towards Louisiana.
"So, where does he live?" I asked as we walked down the sidewalk. We'd agreed we would walk until we were far out of own, then shift and start running, following the roads as best we could.
"A town in Tennessee, called Redmond. Seems our family has a knack for living in small towns," Aaron said, studying the map intently. "His full name is John Santos."
Santos. Guess that means we're part Hispanic.
We continued walking for half an hour, before we decided to shift and start running. We ran with our packs around our necks, since we couldn't very well get them on our backs. We followed the signs that led Northeast, and at one point we drifted a little closer to the road, and spotted a truck with a Tennessee license plate, and followed it instead.
I began to run without any other thought than following the truck, and that helped me to not concentrate on the weird feeling in my chest, that was growing worse the further we went, and helped me to just keep running. The truck didn't stop until long after nightfall, and by that time, we were in Mississippi. The truck stopped at a Motel 8, and so did we, shifting back and pulling our clothes on again. We rented the room next to the one the truck was parked in front of, deciding to follow it the rest of the way into Tennessee.
I crashed on the bed almost as soon as I saw it, only stopping to pee and brush my teeth.
In the morning, we checked to make sure the truck was still there, then took quick advantage of the free breakfast--two frozen waffles and a carton of juice a piece. We left a few minutes later, shifted in the woods and started on the road, so to speak, following the truck once again.
We traveled northeast through Mississippi and into Alabama. Birmingham was difficult, since most of it was city, with hardly any cover. I think we were seen a couple of times, but I really doubt it was enough to make any think anything other than that they were seeing things.
After Birmingham, it was a straight shot north. Once we crossed into Tennessee, Aaron and I left the truck and started towards the first rest stop we could find.
Inside, we found a map and began searching for Redmond.
"There!" I tapped my finger on a dot two inches to the upper left of Columbia, right on a river.
"Redmond, Tennessee," Aaron mused.
"We're in Pulaski now, so it shouldn't take too long," I said, tapping my foot against the floor as I stared at the little dot that was Redmond.
"Let's go find our dad, shall we?" Aaron said. I nodded, despite the knots in my stomach at the thought. So after we each ate three bags of potato chips from the vending machine and got water out of the fountain, we left and started in the direction of Redmond, going straight northwest, occasionally drifting towards the main roads to look for signs.
We stood in front of a cluster of shops, the setting sun casting an orange glow over the building.
"Let's ask someone in the grocery store, they'll be more likely to know him, don't you think?" I said, looking between the Foodland and a Plato's Closet--they were the two stores that seemed to have the most people in them.
Aaron's lips were slightly pursed and he was frowning, his pack over one shoulder, and one thumb hooked in his pocket. A breeze blew his overgrown bangs into his eyes and he impatiently brushed them away. "Alright," he finally said, walking into the Foodland. I trailed after him.
I looked around, spotted the customer service desk, and walked up to the small women behind it. Her long dark hair hung loose on her shoulders, her red vest bore a name tag that read 'Sylvia'. She looked up at our approach and she briefly scanned me over, then her eyes drifted to Aaron and glued onto him.
"Can I help you?" she drawled, her accent heavier than mine.
"Um, yeah. We're looking for a man named John Santos, do you know him?" Aaron said, oblivious to the woman, who was now leaning forwards and twirling her hair around her finger, smiling at him.
"Oh, sure," she said, seeming disappointed. I rolled my eyes. "What do you need him for?"
"Personal reasons," I answered.
Her gaze snapped to me, like she'd forgotten I was there. She looked between me and my brother, as though trying to determine if I was competition. Apparently deciding it was okay, she said, "I can't just tell you where he lives without knowing what you want with him."
I narrowed my eyes. I was tired, and nervous, and I didn't need this chick's attitude.
"Look, he's family, and we came here specifically to see him, all the way from Texas, so if you could..." Aaron said.
"Oh, well in that case..." Sylvia batted her eyes at him, peering up through her lashes, and I fought the urge to make gagging noises. Aaron just watched her, eyebrows raised, waiting. Apparently, she finally got that he was oblivious to her 'charms', and said, "He lives on Pinedale Road, in a big white house; almost like a mansion, but not quite that big. Just turn left out of the parkin' lot and go straight until you see the sign for Pinedale. The house is at the very end, you can't miss it."
"Thanks," I said and started pulling Aaron outside.
"Excuse me, young man, did you say you were looking for John Santos?"
We turned to find a middle-aged guy with a long brown braid down his back looking inquiringly at us, a friendly smile on his face.
"Um, yes," I answered hesitantly.
"I can take you two up there, if you want." He walked forward, pulling a cart full of groceries behind him.
"That would be great!" Aaron smiled.
"Alright," the man said. "I'll just pay for these, and you can follow me in my truck."
"Um, actually, we don't have a car..." I said, biting my lip.
"You took the bus from Texas to Tennessee?" he questioned, looking kind of incredulous. I noticed that his accent was surprisingly light.
"Sort of," I said with a laugh.
"Well, you can ride with me, then," he said, laughing himself.
We waited by the doors while he payed for his groceries, and then the three of us walked outside to a navy-blue slightly weather-beaten truck. Aaron and I helped him put the bags and cases of soft drinks in the bed, and he put the cart in a return space.
He came back and stood before us, stretching out his hand. "I'm Joseph Santos, John's brother."
I looked at Aaron, then back at Joseph. This was our uncle. He seemed pretty cool; denim jeans, black shirt, cowboy boots, braid and a half-sleeve of tattoos on his right arm.
Aaron shook his hand. "I'm Aaron Silverstone."
Joseph extended his hand to me and we shook. "I'm Riley Silverstone, nice to meet you."
Joseph smiled and unlocked the passenger-side door, indicating for us to get in, then got behind the wheel. He drove out of the parking lot, made a left and started down the road. "So, why are you kids looking for my brother? You looking to join a pack?"
I sharply turned my head to look at him, his question throwing me off-guard.
He glanced at me and laughed, a warm sound that calmed me down slightly. "What, did you think I couldn't smell you? My guess is you two've been running all the way from Texas--if that's really where you're from--your scents are both strong, and you smell like the woods."
Aaron cleared his throat. "Well, yes sir, that's kinda exactly what we did," he admitted, looking a little sheepish.
Joseph smiled. "So? What do you need John for?"
We made right turn onto Pinedale Road. "Uh, well we think...he's...he's our father..." I looked over at him, waiting for his reaction.
Joseph's smile dropped and he turned his head to stare at the two of us for a moment, before turning back to the road. "What make's you think that?" he asked. His voice wasn't quite as friendly now, more serious, but not completely unfriendly.
"Our mother had his name written in her diary, along with some stories about their time together, and there was a letter," I told him.
He seemed to consider this information, then asked, "What's your momma's name?"
"Anna Silverstone," I answered.
Joseph nodded. "I remember her. John sent some pictures to me while he was down there with her."
We made followed a curve in the road, drove past several houses and lots of trees. The cab of the truck was silent now, as we all had probably one of the most awkward family moments ever.
Joseph cleared his throat. "So, how's Anna doing?" he asked, putting a smile on his face.
"She died, almost sixteen years ago," Aaron answered.
"Sorry," Joseph said, the smile dropping again. We drove the rest of the way in silence.
As we rounded one last corner, I saw the house: huge, at least three stories, white, with a porch similar to the one on the pack house back home. There were four kids playing in the yard in front of the house, tossing a ball back and forth. Through the open window of the truck, I caught the scent of warm strawberries, and wondered where it was coming from. As Joseph drove across a short bridge over a creek, I got my answer; about twenty feet from the house was a massive strawberry field, bunches of bright red spots dotting the green. "We grow and harvest the strawberries, and sell them at farmer's markets. It's how we make some of our money as pack, though to be honest, we don't have to. The Raven's Pack has been around so long, that we've got more than enough money, but no one's too keen on dipping into more than we have to," John said, seeing where my gaze had gone to. He pulled into the driveway and over to a stand-alone garage that was probably a third the size of the house. We got out of the truck and Joseph started unloading bags. "Come on, help me unload this. John's not here right now, so I might as well put you to work."
I grabbed as many bags as I could handle and followed him up to the house. The kids stopped playing and ran up to Joseph, watching us with curious smiles. I smiled back to them and a little girl giggled.
"Alright, go grab some bags! Or not a single one of you is getting any ice cream!" Joseph instructed them. They ran off toward the truck, laughing.
I smiled and Aaron and I followed him inside the house and into a huge kitchen.
"Jeeze, and I thought our kitchen was big! Carolyn would be so jealous!" Aaron said with a laugh, setting bags on the floor next to the ones Joseph and put down.
I set down my bags and moved out of the way as the kids from outside came running in, each carrying a tub of ice cream and trying not to drop them.
One of the two boys poked Joseph's leg and pointed at us. "Who's that?" he asked, a slight whistle coming from his mouth.
"That's Aaron and Riley, they came to see John," Joseph answered with a smile.
"Oh!" the kid said, apparently satisfied with the answer. "I'm Kevin!" He said, looking at us.
"Nice to meet you Kevin," Aaron said, ruffling his blonde hair.
The other kids laughed and introduced themselves and Will, Kat, and Mira, then they ran back outside.
"Come on, let's finish up," Joseph said, and we went back outside and finished unloading his truck.
After we got everything inside, two guys who looked to be about our age came in and helped put everything away into two freezer-refrigerators.
The taller guy, who had strawberry-blonde hair and bright blue eyes smiled at me. "So, what have you two come to see us about? Are you looking for a pack, perhaps?" he sounded really hopeful, leaning against the counter and grinning.
The other guy, who was about two inches shorter, with dark close-cut hair, punched him in the arm. "Dude, she just got here, don't flirt!"
The other guy laughed. "What's wrong with flirting?" he asked, watching me the whole time.
"Who's flirting with who?" asked a new voice, a little deeper.
I looked towards the doorway to see a man standing there, smiling at everyone. He had longish, medium-brown hair, and sun-tanned skin, with aquamarine-blue eyes. Something in the shape of his face, the way he smiled, was very familiar. As was the way he was built; kind of tall, very lean, muscles obvious through his tee and on his arms.
The strawberry-blonde guy laughed again. "Hey John! I was just flirting with this pretty girl here," he said.
John looked at me, and his mouth fell open slightly. He looked past me to Aaron. I stood frozen in my place, unsure of what to do.
John stepped further into the room, slowly, hesitantly, then dropped his sunglasses onto the counter and came towards us. He looked the both of us in the eyes for a moment, then pulled us into a hug.
"I was hoping you would come soon!" he whispered in my ear.
A wave of such relief and pure elation washed over me, that I wrapped my arm tightly around him and felt a few tears slip from my eyes.
"We came as fast as we could," I whispered back. "We just had to find you first."
He released us and I saw that he had some tears, too.
Joseph cleared his throat. "Come on boys, let's let them have a moment," he ushered the boys out of the room.
"How did you get here?" John asked.
"We ran," Aaron answered, voice gruff with emotion. "We shifted and ran the way here."
John smiled. "It's only been two months since you shifted, right?" Aaron nodded. "You're strong."
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked.
"I mean, my blood runs strongly through your veins. You have the blood of alphas," John said.
"I suspected that much from mom's diary," I told him. "She said you had to leave because of something to do with your family."
"Yes. My father died and I had to come back, for my mother, and to determine who would take over the pack. Seph's my older brother, but he never wanted the position of Alpha. So I took it," John said.
"How did you know about us?" I asked.
John indicated for us to sit down at a large red table in the breakfast nook area. "My sister, your aunt, Chloe knew your mother. She had visited me in Riverton while I lived down there, and got to know Anna well. About two years after you were born, Chloe went to visit Anna, only to find that..." he cleared his throat. "that she had passed away. But she found you two at your grandmother's house and asked about you. Naturally, Marie refused to say anything. But Chloe went to Miranda, Anna's friend, and asked, and found out you were her children. Miranda told her that you were mine, and Chloe said she could see the resemblance. She came back to Redmond after unsucessfully trying to get Marie to let her see you, and told me what had happened.
"For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why Anna wouldn't have told me; we'd sent letters back and forth and talked on the phone. Then I went down there one time, and talked to Marie. She was furious to see me. She hadn't liked me before, but after I left, she really hated me. She told me that Anna hadn't wanted me to know, then pushed me out of her house. I tried so many times to see you, and sometimes I went to your school and watched from a distance. I talked with Miranda Moore, and asked her to keep an eye on you for me, and tell me about everything I missed, and she did. She's been sending letters for years."
I was crying now. I couldn't believe that he'd cared for us so much. But still, why hadn't he tried to get us? I voiced my question and John smiled ruefully.
"When it became clear to me that Marie wasn't going to willingly give the two of you to me, I tried to go to court and get you that way, but the Council of Elders intervened and said that because I'd revealed the secret of werewolves to a human, I wouldn't be allowed to have custody of you until you shifted, until you were proved werewolves. They said that Marie's father was a werewolf, so somehow that gave her enough credit or authority or some other bull...anyway, they wouldn't let me have you," he said bitterly.
I felt a flare of rage at the Council. It seemed to me they put their noses in other people's business way too often.
Next to me, Aaron's fists clenched on the table and a growl escaped his throat. "I've had enough of those jack asses! First they come questioning about the two of us, asking if we're 'stable' and now I find out they interfered with our family!" he pounded the table and breathed heavily through his nose.
I rested my hand gently on his shoulder. Aaron was usually so calm and cool, I knew he must have really begun hating those people for him to get this mad.
"What do you mean?" John asked, frowning.
"The Council came to our pack house in Riverton, questioning the alpha, beta and third, about whether or not we were 'stable', if we would kill someone or not," I answered tightly, thinking of that old fart Nornis.
John growled. "I think it's about time the Elder Council be laid to rest," he said. "They've been messing with things that aren't their business for years now. They're part of the unrest that's brewing all over the country. There's something not right about them."
We all took some deep breaths, then pushed the Council out of our minds.
"Hey, John?" A woman's voice called from the hallway. I looked up to see a woman John's age walking into the kitchen. She was beautiful, with angular features, dark, red-brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and green eyes. She stopped when she noticed us, and I'm sure the three of us were a somewhat confusing sight; two teenagers and a full-grown man, faces red from crying, but with looks of dissolving anger on our faces.
John looked over his shoulder at her. "Oh, Nora," he said, looking surprised.
She came over and stood next to him.
"Uh, Nora, this is Riley and Aaron...they're my children," John told her. He seemed to be waiting for her reaction, and I wondered who she was.
Nora looked curiously first at Aaron, then me. She bit her lip and frowned, turning her head to the side. Finally, she smiled. "Yep! They look just like you!" she exclaimed. "The eyes are different, and the hair, but other than that, you look just alike!"
John laughed, apparently relieved. He turned back to us. "Guys, this is Nora, she's...well, she's my mate."
"Your mate?" Aaron asked, frowning.
John met his eyes. "Yes. Your mother, I loved her more than anything, but she wasn't my mate. Nora found me a few years ago, and well..." he trailed off.
"Are you guys okay with that? I mean, there's nothing I can really do about it, but I don't want either of you to fell uncomfortable," Nora said, biting her lip again, though her eyes were more troubled now, and less curious.
I shook my head. "No, it's totally fine!" I said honestly. Somehow, it didn't bother me at all. I just sort of understood. I looked to Aaron, who was still frowning.
After a moment, he just shrugged. I could tell it bothered him a little, but both of us could the way John and Nora were so comfortable, how even their scents--lavender and lemongrass--just fit together.
Nora smiled widely. "Great! I'm so glad. John told me he'd contacted you, and ever since, I've worried that you would hate me!"
John smiled too.
We talked some more, told them about our trip here, about the letter, and about the Wildfire Pack. At mention of the pack, Nora's eyes lit up and she grinned. "Did you say Wildfire Pack!? So you're the one Axel turned! Or, sort of turned as it is. Really, he just stimulated the lycanthropy. You would've shifted by your sixteenth birthday anyway."
"Um...yeah." I frowned, confused by what she said.
Nora laughed. "Sorry. Anyway, Axel Grayson, the Beta, is my younger brother!"
"What! Really?" I asked, smiling now.
Nora nodded. "Yep."
"Cool. So you know Chris then. And Callum, Carolyn, Sera and Handley?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah, grew up with all of them!" Nora grinned.
"So, how'd you end up here?" I asked.
"I left my old pack not long after Axel and Chris left. You see, I have the gift of Sight, as John's mom says. I have visions of the future. One day, I had a vision of John, and instantly knew he was my mate, so I set out to find him," at that, Nora put her hand on my dad's arm, smiling at him.
Suddenly, I yawned. All the running had finally caught up with me, despite the Monster I drank a couple hours before arriving in Redmond.
John smiled and stood up from the table. "Come on, you two, I'm sure you're tired from all that running. Let's get you some food and then you can sleep in a couple of extra rooms we have upstairs."
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I'm so sorry for updating so late! I've been really busy with writing, reading and finals, that I completely forgot! I really hope you guys like this chapter, I promise to try my best and update on time next week.